306 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[ October, 



Rev. L. J. Tomplin says : — " I see several sug- 

 gestions in the Gardnier's Monthly as to the real 

 name of the Tumble Weed ; some of them may 

 be correct and some are certainly wrong. We 

 have two species here, of which I hope to send 

 you specimens as soon as they bloom." 



Prof. Bcal writes : — " You speak of Tumble 

 Weed. Amaranthus albus, does sometimes tum- 

 ble in sonie parts of this State, when grown on 

 early dry land. At least I think it is the species. 

 Prof. Bessey, of Ames, Iowa, of the Agricultural 

 College, says, their Tumble Weed is Amaranthus 

 albus. Weeds as well as many other plants, and 

 animals often behave quite differently in remote 

 countries. I never saw this weed rolling about 

 in Massachusetts or New York, but I have seen 

 small specimens drifting for some 

 Southern Michigan, never, however 

 a year. This was in Battle Creek." 



And somebody from Rockford, without signa- 

 ture, says : — " Amaranthus albus is the common 

 'Tumble Weed 'of Illinois! Cycloloma shares 

 the name, but is comparatively rare, being con- 

 fined to the sandy banks of rivers. 



As there are so many "Tumble Weeds," 

 would it not be well to provide each with adjec- 

 tives, and avoid the trouble that will otherwise 

 occur ? 



distance in 

 until within 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Geogr.\phy of the Colorado Potato Beetle. 

 — While the writer of this was in England, hope 

 was expressed by English farmers that their 

 country would not be warm enough in Summer 

 to encourage the beetle. But on the contrary. 

 Prof. C. V. Riley has recently stated that it does 

 not like high Summer heats, and that the South- 

 ern States of our own country will for that rea- 

 son never be overburdened with the pest. Un- 

 fortunately the potato does best in the temperate 

 regions, where the Colorado beetle doth best love 

 to feed. 



EuoNYMUs RADiCANS.— In our last year's vol- 

 ume Mr. Boehmer contributed a highly interest- 

 ing paper on the Flora of Japan, and our 

 readei-s may remember that a reference was 

 made to the Euonymus radicans as being one 

 of ihe most remarkable features of forest scenery; 

 clinging to the trees and covering them with 

 verdure, as the ivy does the walls and trees of 

 old England. We have had the variegated 

 variety of this under culture for a year or two. 



but had noticed no disposition to send out roots 

 in this way, and feared the wrong species waa 

 being grown. But we placed one against a 

 tree to test it and find it does run in tliat way 

 when it can get anything to cling to, and is 

 undoubtedly the kind referred to l»y our friend 

 in his Japan forest sketches. As the English ivy 

 is not generally hardy in our country, and this 

 so far proves to stand any of our severe Winters, 

 we think it likely to be of immense value in 

 American gardening. It will grow as a bush if 

 desired, when it does not root out as when it 



EUONYMUS RADICANS. 



finds something to cling to, and it makes admir- 

 able edgings for flower beds, or it can be used in 

 the place of box and trimmed in close. Consider- 

 ing the time it has been in American nurseries, 

 it is surprising that no one has made a point of 

 calling public attention to its manifold uses in 

 American gardening. It will be a fit companion 

 to the beautiful Ampelopsis Vietchii also from 

 Japan, with the additional advantage of being 

 evergreen. 



Wearing out of Varieties. — In recent discus- 

 sions on this subject, it was contended that 

 varieties do not wear out, but that they disap- 

 pear or get feeble in time fi-om disease following 

 the grafts or cuttings from which the plants are 

 made. But to the practical gardener this is the 

 same thing. If the variety die out in time, it is 

 not of much consequence, whether it is from 

 disease, or from a constitutional giving out, for 

 disease is natvire's plan for destroying constitu- 

 tions. 



Spontaneous Generation. — Prof. Tyndall, on 

 being asked, recently, whether he thought the 



